While
the
US
Army
preferred
to
indicate
itemized
parts by Stock N°, the
Medical Department used Item N° . Following series of digits
represent the numbering
system in use after June 1944 (some say August 1944) when the number of
digits used
increased from 5 to 7 . The first digit always indicated the class to
which the part
belonged, while the other four (i.e. 0001 to 9999) indicated the
purchase order within a
specific class . The new Army Service Forces Catalog issued in August
1944 officially
introduced the increased series of digits, i.e. 7 in lieu of 5; the
additional two digits
were attributed in order to help identify variants in identical medical
items, and the
last two digits were used for this specific purpose (i.e. 00 to 99);
when a particular
item had no variants, the last digits were always double zero ! The
evolution can be
verified as follows : glass-luer-syringe-2cc or item n° 38440 (i.e.
mfd before mid 44)
would become item n° 3844000 (i.e. mfd after June 44) . After WWII
i.e. in 1947, the
numbering system changes whereby all 7 digits now appear in three
separate groups of
digits, 1-3-3 hyphenated, e.g. ammonia inhalant n° 1-060-875 (this
enables the collector
to identify postwar medical items) (submitted by
Alain Batens)

(Above
document
belonged
to
Medic
Wilbur
E.
Moquin,
and is from the
collection of Kevin Molinaro)

The
Geneva
Convention
I.D.
Card
above
is
the
1st pattern of card
distributed to medical personnel in accordance with instructions of the
1929 Geneva
Convention (requiring that medical and civilian protected personnel
should wear the
necessary ID in order to be easily recognized, as such) . This document
is based on the
existing War Department I.D. Card in use during WWII, however this was
a threefold
document, whereas the Red Cross card is only a twofold document ! The
front cover is also
brown with black markings, stating UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA, WAR DEPARTMENT, Coat of Arms, MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, RED
CROSS, except for the No.+ digits in red, and
while the back retains the same brown color, it bears Loss of
this card will be
reported through channels to the Force Commander without delay, Issued
in accordance with
Article 21, Geneva Treaty, July 27, 1929, Major General, The Adjutant
General of the Army,
W.D., A.G.O. Form No. 65-10, May 20, 1942, GPO 16-25005-1and has a distinctive red cross in
the middle of the cover . The double page
inside folds in the middle, and contains following headings, to be
filled in, i.e. Agency,
First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Race, Birth Date, Color Eyes,
Height, Signature of
Bearer, Military Authorization-Signature, Date, Place – the rest of the
page is
reserved for Fingerprints-Right Hand, Thumb, Index and Middle, a B/W
picture of the card
bearer and reference 16-28605-1 .(submitted
by
Alain
Batens)

Above
document
belonged
to
Medic
Jennings
D.
Banner,
and is from the
collection of Alain Batens)

This
Geneva
Convention
I.D.
Card
is
the
2d
pattern type . It was only
later introduced, in 1943 ? in 1944 ? and was not only easier to carry
and handle,
moreover it was coated with transparent plastic for protection . The
document front is a
white (or very light tan-maybe aged, that’s what I presume) with a red
frame, and red
headings and indications e.g. the frame bears NOT A
PASS- FOR
IDENTIFICATION ONLY, PROPERTY OF U.S. GOV’T, LOSS
OF
THIS
CARD
MUST
BE
REPORTED
AT
ONCEand
further WAR DEPARTMENT, THE ADJUTANT
GENERAL’S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D.C.,the Coat of Arms, CERTIFICATE OF
IDENTITY TO BE ISSUED TO MILITARY AND CIVILIAN PROTECTED
PERSONNEL, Name, Designation, Signature, Date Issued, Countersignee, W.D. A.G.O. 65-10. It
also holds sufficient space for a B/W picture of the card holder . The
reverse side has
following indications in black; Height, Weight, Hair, Eyes, Date of
Birth, Fingerprints,
Left Index, Right Index, Identification No. + digits, and the rest of
the space is covered
by a red cross over which a black text is superimposed defining the
duties of the card
bearer, as well as a notice covering potential loss of the card and a
warning . (please
note the number of digits preceded by a capital letter, reflects the
same one as stamped
inside the medical brassard, authorized by the Geneva Convention) .

It
is estimated that approximately 830,000 cards have been ditstributed
to medical personnel throughout WW2 . After the war, a new (smaller)
Geneva Convention
Identification Card was issued by the US Government bearing reference
to the Geneva
Convention of August 12, 1949 .(submitted
by
Alain
Batens)

The following information was submitted by Alain
Batens. Alain has been collecting, researching and consulting on the
subject of World War
II for 44 years. I welcome his expertise and look forward to many more
of his
contributions to this web site.

(NOTE:
since
the
Private
wears
a
full
kit,
i.e. TWO medical
pouches, he will use the Suspender to support the weight of subject
pouches) The same
Suspender was sometimes used by B.A.R. men in order to help support the
weight of their
full cartridge belt ! Being wider, it was more comfortable than the
regular M-36 field
suspenders

The
pouches
were
worn
at
the
hips
and
were supported by an
extra wide loadbearing suspender or harness (i.e. yoke) . Both pouches
were then fastened
by means of the respective hooks (1 each side, i.e. 2 per pouch) which
clipped into the
eyelets of the M-1936 pistol belt . The 2 cantle ring straps were just
fastened to the 2
canvas pouches in order to link both . In most cases litter bearers
also had 2 litter
carrying straps, which were either packed in the left canvas pouch or
just hooked onto the
front rings of the suspender (when used, they were just passed around
the litter handles
and hooked, both front and rear to the suspender in order to alleviate
the patient's
weight)(submitted by Alain Batens)

The medical equipment was designed for efficiency and
adaptability to different conditions. Therefore each pouch had an
adjustable "false
bottom' that would make the pouch expandable to carry additional
medical supplies. This
was done by lacing up front and rear strips with eyelets, attached half
way down each
external surface, both front and rear (see illustration below). When
lacings were removed,
the size of the pouch almost doubled. (submitted
by Alain Batens)

The pouch
illustrated on the left is an early pouch circa 1932 (expanded) where
the strap is still
made out of leather. The pouch illustrated on the right shows another
pouch (shortened)
where the leather closing strap has been replaced by web material (to
avoid easy wear and
tear). (submitted by Alain Batens)

1 X Container,
Metal, N°1 containing 12 X Swab, Iodine(Modification: end of 1943, contents
reduced to only 6 Iodine
swabs, either still included in the Metal Container, or packed in the
new 1 X Box, Swab,
Iodine (item #91120)

(NOTE:Those
items
that
are
not
repeated
throughout
the
listed
contents REMAIN in use ! The author still misses a few Medical
Item
Numbers,
if you think you can help, kindly forward the information to the
Webmaster – any help
will be appreciated – many thanks again )

1
X
Container,
Metal,
N°1(Modification:
end
of
1943,
contents
reduced
to only 6 X Iodine Swabs, either still included in the Metal Container,
or packed in the
new cardboard box containing 6 X Iodine Swabs (item #91120).

BOOK,
EMT
(Emergency
Medical
Tags)
(for
fixing to patient’s clothing, usually over breast, or as
near as
possible, with full data covering identity, arm or service, full
diagnosis, as well as
treatment given to patient)

SCISSORS, OPERATING, ONE POINT, SHARP
(surgical instrument, used
during operating)

PACKET, SUTURE, SILK, BRAIDED (for
sewing
together
of
a
wound)

MORPHINE,
TARTRATE,
SYRETTE, ½ GRAIN
(for relief of
severe pain, full effects are not felt for 20 to 30 minutes after
injection, do not give a
second injection sooner than 2 hours after the first, never give a
second dose to a
patient who is breathing 12 or less times a minute & never give
morphine to an
unconscious person)

TABLET, SULFADIAZINE (for
prevention
of
wound
infection,
take
by
mouth
followed
by a large amount of water)

NOTE: It might be
interesting to have additional inputs covering above definitions from
the ‘real’
medical world –If you think you can help the author, kindly forward the
information
to the Webmaster – many thanks again

I'm always
interested in purchasing World War II medic
helmets and medical
equipment. Please email me with any items for sale.-Thank You